President George Washington

American History Hit

History Hit

America, History

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 3 August 2023

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

He was the victorious Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. As presiding officer of the Constitutional Convention, he oversaw the birth of the government of the United States. But George Washington is remembered by most as the first President elect of the United States.

This is the first episode of a new series on American History Hit. Every two weeks Don and an expert will explore the presidencies of the former Commanders-in-Chief of the US.

To begin, Patrick Spero joins us to take us through George Washington's time in office. From his ascent to the presidency to the development of the new capital; from the Proclamation of Neutrality to the Whisky Rebellion; this is the ultimate introduction to the first president.

Patrick is Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon.

Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Siobhan Dale. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.

Get 50% off your first 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe

You can take part in our listener survey here.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	It is April 30th, 1789.
0:05.0	The people of New York City are awakened by a military salute at sunrise.
0:10.0	A few hours later, at 9 a.m.
0:12.0	church bells ring throughout the town for half an hour.
0:15.3	While members of Congress officials and all of New York's most important figures
0:19.8	gather at Federal Hall for a most momentous day in this still young United States.
0:26.4	At half past 12, attention turns to a parade of 500 soldiers,
0:31.0	arriving in the company of the one man who matters most.
0:34.0	Disembarking from the state coach, he strides down an avenue formed of his men.
0:40.0	This man, a tired modestly in a dark brown suit with brass buttons decorated with eagles, a dress sword at his side, and silver buckled shoes enters into Federal Hall, emerging onto the second floor balcony in the company of dignitaries.
0:55.0	Facing the crowd below, he places one hand onto the ceremonial Bible and takes his oath of office.
1:01.0	George Washington has just become the first President-elect of the
1:05.0	jubilant crowd of the United States, the jubilant crowd of Americans
1:07.0	cheers in approval.
1:50.0	And the I'd wear I dwell on this prospect with every satisfaction which an ardent love for my country can inspire. Since there is no truth more thoroughly established than that there exists in the economy and course of nature, an indestoluble union between virtue and happiness, between duty and advantage,
1:57.0	between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy, and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity. Welcome to American History Hit. I'm your host Don Wildman. Well, this is a big day for us. Today marks the first in a special series of episodes which will every two weeks or so, in chronological order, explore all 46 presidents of the United States, from George Washington to Joe Biden and whoever comes later should we eventually
2:35.2	get to him or her. Of course, it is a tall task to survey the life and times of any remarkable
2:40.6	person, much less one who becomes president of the United States.
2:44.3	It's a whole lot to cover in a half an hour format.
2:46.9	So we're focusing on the presidential years, with any other discussion undertaken to illustrate how the man's past might have led to his actions in the White House.
2:57.0	So we begin at the beginning with a man who started at all, America's first president, George Washington, father of our nation, we call
3:04.8	him, who journeyed through a lifetime of tumultuous, creative, and military rebellion, only
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from History Hit, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of History Hit and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.